Electric-arc lamp.



No. 732,141, PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903.- C. J. TOERRING.

ELECTRIC ARC LAMP.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 25' 1902.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903.

0.1T. TOERRING.

ELECTRIC ARC LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25, 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

no MODEL.

Cjrz'siz arz 3 g xuls no, monmumo msmmnm ay 2 UNITED STATES I Patented June so, 1903.

' PATENT OFFICE.

ELECTRIC-ARC LAMP.

: PECIFIOATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 732,141, dated June 30, 1903.

Application filed June 25, 1902. Serial No. 113,082. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN J. TOER- RING, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Arc Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to arclamps of the long-burning orso-called air-tight variety; and the principal feature of my invention consists of such a lamp embodying in its construction a set of slotted tubes one within the other,which communicate with the globespace surrounding the arc. These tubes have certain functions in the construction and operation of the lamp; but as these features of my invention as a whole can be better appreciated afterthe construction of the lamp is understood I will now proceed to describe it.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of my lamp. Fig. 2 is a side elevation from the opposite side. Fig. 3 is a central vertical cross-section.- Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the carbon-holder and clutch-tube. Fig. 5 is a cross-section on the line 5 5. Fig. 6 is a cross-section of the carbon-holder and attached parts. Fig. 7 is a plan of the clutch, and Fig. 8 shows the globe-holder.

The top plate A carries the terminals A A and the porcelain insulator A, from which the lamp is suspended. Rigidly secured to the top plate A by means of the collar A having legs A is the slotted supporting-tube B, through substantially the entire length of which runs the slot B,Which gives it its name.

To the lower end of the slotted supportingtube 13 is rigidly secured in any convenient fashion the cap-plate C, having its lower sur-' face ground oif true to form an air-tight joint with the upper surface of the small globe I, which may be made of glass and which has its upper surface ground off true to fit the under surface of the cap-plate to effect the result stated.

Supported upon the cap-plate C and secured, if desired, to the slotted supportingtube B is a casting 0 upon which rests and to which is rigidly secured the magnet-supporting plate 0 Upon this magnet-supportary, this being a mere reversal.

ing plate C are mounted the solenoids or magnets D in any well-known manner. Codperating with these solenoids are the cores D secured to a cross-plate D and in turn secured to but insulated from the rod D by the nuts D in any convenient manner. In turn secured to the rod D is the link E which takes in orifices in the hood E of the dash-pot E. The piston E of this dash-pot is Secured to a pitman E which is pivoted. to a base E, rigidly secured to the slotted supporting-tube B; but manifestly the piston could be made movable and the hood station- A chain E passes around and is secured to the surface of the roller E which is supported upon the slotted supporting-tube B. The chain E is fastened to the hood of the dash-pot E at one end and to the slotted clutch-tube F at the other end. In practice its inner end is made niuch'longer than shown. This clutch-tube F is snpplied with a longitudinal slot F, extending through nearly its entire length, and has secured 'to its bottom in any convenient manner an arm F and a bracket F This arm F mav be integral with the tube F, as shown, or it may be secured to a collar which embraces the lower end of the tube, so as to close a little more completely the opening between the tube F and the tube 13. A collar effecting a similar function is shown at F in Fig. 4.

Pivoted to the bracket F is the plate F provided with a Weighted end F and with an annular ring-clutch E, which is secured to but insulated from the plate F The tripping-plate H is supported at some distance below the cap-plate 0. It is secured to but insulated from the cap-plate by the standards H and H at a sufficient distance below the cap-plate to permit the carbon-holder to come down between the tripping-plate H andthe cap-plate'C, so as to render the carbon-holder accessible at this point. This construction adds much to the facility by which an old carbon can be removed from the carbon-holder and a new carbon be put in place.

The tripping-plate II cooperates with the clutch to tilt the clutch when the same comes in contact with the upper surface of the tripping-plate, throwing the clutch into a more nearly horizontal position and permitting the carbon to feed down in the manner well understood. This tripping-plate has an aperture for the passage of the carbon, and the outer diameter of the tripping-plate is nearly but not quite equal to the inner diameter of the globe I at the same point.

The arm H which carries the negative carbon at its lower end, is rigidly secured against the lower face of the tripping-plate and is insulated therefrom, but is electrically connected with the standard H by screws and insulating-washers in a manner which need not be more particularly described.

On the inside of the slotted clutch-tube F slides the carbon-holder G,which is tapered,so that the carbon may more readily be retained therein, and which has an aperture G, so that broken or worn-out pieces of carbon can be removed by an instrument inserted through this slot. The carbon-holder G is rigidly'secured to a rod G through a slot in the upper end of which passes a transverse piece G which is rigidly secured to the rod G by upsetting the metal of the upper end of the rod G on a metal washer G which clamps the whole together. Rigidly secured to the transverse piece G at one end is the metallic ring G to which is secured or threaded at the other end a binding-post or current-terminal G It will be clear from the drawings that the bolt Gr slides within the slotted clutch-tube F, that the transverse piece G passes through the slot F of the slotted clutchtube F, that the ring G moves on the outside of the slotted clutch-tube F, but on the inside of the slotted supporting-tube B, and that the current-terminal G extends through the slot B of the slotted supporting-tube B to the outside of this tube, where it is readily accessible.

Coming now to the circuit connections, which are shown as of the series type, current may be supposed to enter the lamp at the binding-post A and to pass by the wire 1 to the windings of the solenoids D and through these windings to the cable 2. From this cable 2 the current passes to the terminal G, the ring G, the transverse piece G the bolt G to the carbon-holder G, and thence to the positive and negative carbons. The current now passes up the arm H to the standard H to the cable 3, thence to the ring 4 which slides upon the rheostat 5. This rheostat may consist of two porcelain cylinders secured to the under face of the cap-plate A in any suitable manner and may be wound with a helix of resistance-wire. From the ring 4 the current passes along the windings below it on one of the cylinders of the rheostat and thence by the wire 6 to the winding on the other cylinder of the rheostat and thence to the binding-post A It will be manifest that the various parts of the lamp are insulated from each other in the usual manner, such insulation having been shown in the drawings at the proper points and having been referred to at some portions of the above description, but being unnecessary to more particularly point out and describe in detail.

It is now well understood in the art that an arc-lamp which burns within a comparatively small globe which is substantially airtight has a life very much greater than is possessed by lamps burning in larger globes having free access to the air. In fact,whereas the life of arc-lamps burning in globes which are not air-tight is but a few hours the life of these so-called air-tight lamps is from two hundred to two hundred and fifty hours and even greater.

Now I have discovered that the construction of lamp which I have described has all the essential properties of an air-tight lamp so far as the length of the life of the carbons and other desirable features of so-called airtight lamps is concerned, and this despite the fact that air in small quantities can get to the globe and the arc therewithin down through my slotted tubes and through the aperture in the tripping-plate and through the space between the tripping-plate and the globe. It is only necessary that the two slots in the two tubes be placed at an angle to each other and preferably at an angle of one hundred and eighty degrees or opposite each to the other. With such construction I have found that the life of mylamp is substantially that of-the so-called air-tight varieties of lamp, and for this reason I may without confusion designate my lamp as an air-tight lamp. Furthermore, I find that the trippingplate when placed below the cap-plate, as shown, has not merely the function of giving ready access to the carbon-holder when this holder is in its lowermost position, as above described, but has the further important function of acting as a chamber or reservoir for the heated air, which tends to maintain the high temperature of the are, thereby increasing the life of the carbon. Should, however, the slots in the two tubes be in line, a draft would be established which would do away with this quality of the tripping-plate as a means for increasing the life of the carbon. It will be seen, therefore, that the two slotted tubes have a very important function in my lamp, which is enhanced by the trippingplate and which function relates to the 1ongevity of the carbon, and that these slotted tubes have the further function of permitting the cable which connects the upper carbon holder with a current-supply to have its connection readily accessible Without any difiiculty, so that this cable or this connection can be repaired if it should become necessary.

Supposing that I use carbons one-half inch in diameter, I may say that for one-hundredand-ten-volt lamps I use a central orifice in the tripping-plate through which the carbon passes which is five-eighths of an inch in diameter. With such dimensions the life of my carbon will be from two hundred to two hundred and fifty hours. It is not advisable to make the life of these carbonsin a onehundred-and-ten-volt lamp any longer than this, since at the end of this time the deposit on the lower carbon from the upper carbon becomes very ragged, causing an unsteady burning of the are when the life is extended beyond this. For a two-hundred-and-twenty- Volt lamp the size of the centralorifice in the tripping-plate may be decreased to nine-sixteenths of an inch, and the outer diameter of the plate may be increased to some extent to make the space between the tripping-plate and the inner surface of the globe I somewhat smaller. This will naturally make the life of the lamp longer than two hundred and fifty hours, which is not objectionable with a two-hundred-and-twenty-volt single-burning arc-lamp. In such lamps the deposit of carbon from the upper to the lower electrode is much less than is the case with a one-hundred-and-ten-volt lamp, and, in fact, this deposit rarely if ever grows to a point where it produces an unsteady burning.

I may say that the clearance between the outer circumferential face of the trippingplate and the inside surface of the inner globe may be taken as one-eighth of an inch or even less.

From what has been said it will be seen that while I gain all of the substantial advantages of the so-called air-tight lamp and other important advantages in the accessibility of the current connection to the carbon I am not compelled to devise any special means for producingasubstantially air-tightfitbetween the outer face of the positive carbon and the walls of the aperture through which it slides to get into the inner globe. In other words, I do away with one of the troublesome constructional features of other air-tight lamps. I may now describe the U-shaped globeholder for my inner globe. This consists of a U-wire J, having a foot J in its center and being formed with spring-coils J and eyes J at the ends of the U. The globe-holder is fastened to the cap-plate C by screws J passing through the eyes J In order to remove the globe, the globe-holder is swung aside upon the pivots J, the foot J being permit ted to yield away from the bottom of the globe by the natural spring of the coil J When the globe-holder is in operation, the spring of these coils J serves to press the upper ground face of the globe into contact with r the lower face of the cap-plate O to produce an air-tight joint therebetween. The coils J are twisted into the arms of the U-wire, and the axes of the coils are at right angles to the arms of the U-wire, thus increasing the stiffness of the spring-holders in a downward direction and saving space by having the coils lie fiat against the globe.

The mechanical operation of my lamp will be clear without much description. Current being fed thereto, the solenoids D are energized to pull down the cores D and to pull up the clutch-tube F, any sudden or jerkingmotion being obviated by the dash-pot E. The clutch-tube F on rising tilts and raises the ring-clutch F to strike the arc. When in the operation of burning the are grows too long, the consequent weakening of the current in the solenoids permits the clutch-tube F to descend and the end of the clutch-plate to strike the tripping-plate H. The clutchplate being thrown into a more nearly horizontal position, the upper carbon is allowed to descend until the are again reaches the proper length. The external casing and globe have not been shown.

In conclusion I may state that it is manifestly not necessary to have the clutch-tube a complete circle in cross-section so long as it is of sufficient circular extent to'cover the slot in the supporting-tube sufficiently to prevent an objectionable draft from within the globe, and it is to be understood that I use the word tube in all my claims in the broad sense of a complete or of a partial tube. From this point of View my invention consists of the slotted supporting-tube in a longburning arc-lamp and a shield extending over and beyond the slot, which shield in certain cases may be on the outside of the tube.

What I claim is- 1. A long-burning arc-lamp comprising a substantially air-tight globe, a set of slotted tubes, one within the other, having their slots at an angle, and a carbon-holder within the inner tube, substantially as described.

2. A long-burning arc-lamp comprising a substantially air-tight globe, a set of slotted tubes one within the other, having their slots at an angle, and-a conical carbon-holder within the inner tube, substantially as described.

3. A long-burning arc-lamp comprising a substantially air-tight globe, a set of tubes, one within the other, each having a slot and the slots being angularly displaced, a carbonholder within the inner tube and current-car rying devices extending from the carbonholder through the respective slots, substantially as described.

4. A long-burning arc-lamp comprising a substantially air-tight globe, a set of tubes one within the other, each having a slot and the slots being angularly displaced, a carbonholder within the inner tube, and a conducting-ring between the tubes electrically connected, through the respective slots, to the carbon-holder and an external terminal, substantially as described.

5. A long-burning arc-lamp comprising a cap-plate,arranged to support a substantially air-tight globe thereagainst, a tripping-plate secured therebelow, a slotted supportingtube for the cap-plate, a slotted clutch-tube moving therewithin, the slots being angularly displaced, and a carbonholder inside the clutch-tube, substantially as described.

6. A long-burning arc-lamp comprising a cap-plate, a globe secured in a substantially air-tight manner against its under surface and a tripping-plate, having a central aperture for the passage of the carbon and a diameter nearlythat of the inside of the globe, secured below the cap-plate to constitute a hot-air space, substantially as described.

7. A long-burning arc1amp comprising a cap-plate, a globe secured in a substantially air-tight manner against its under surface, a tripping-plate, having a central aperture for the'pa ssage of the carbon and a diameter nearly that of the inside of the globe, secured below the cap-plate to constitute a hot-air space, a slotted supporting-tube secured to the cap-plate, a slotted clutch-tube therewithin, the respective slots being angularly displaced,and a carbon-holder inside the clutch-tube, substantially as described.

8. A long-burning arc-lamp comprising a top plate, a cap-plate, arranged to support a substantially air-tight globe thereagainst, a slotted supporting-tube connecting them, a slotted clutch-tube inside the supportingtube, the respective slots being angularly displaced, and a carbon-holder inside the clutch-tube, substantially as described.

9. A long-burning arc-lamp comprising a cap-plate arranged to support a substantially air-tight globe thereagainst, a magnet-supporting plate, a slotted tube supporting these parts, a slotted clutch-tube, the respective slots being angularly displaced, and a carbonholder inside the supporting-tube, substantially as described.

10. An arc-lamp comprising a bracket supporting a dash-pot piston, a dash-pot hood connected to magnet-cores and a chain respectively, a roller over which the chain passes and a carbon-clutch connected to the other end of the chain, substantially as described.

ll. An arc-lamp comprising a slotted supporting-tube carrying a magnet-supporting plate, solenoids thereupon, a dash-pot piston supported on the supporting-tube, a dash-pot hood connected to the solenoid-cores and to a slotted clutch-tube respectively, and a carhon-holder within the clutch-tube, substantially as described.

12. An arc-lamp comprising a top plate having a rheostat secured to its under surface, a cap-plate and magnet-supporting plate secured to the top plate by a tube, a magnet having its cores connected to a clutch-tube on the inside of the supporting-tube and a carbon-holder inside the clutch-tube, substantially as described.

13. A pivoted U-shaped globe-holder having spring-coils twisted in its arms the axis of the coils being at right angles to the arms of the U, substantially as described.

14. A U-shaped globe-holder having a foot for engagement with the bottom of the globe, eyes for pivoting it to the cap-plate and spring-coils twisted in the arms of the U, the axis of the coils being at an angle to the arms of the U, substantially as described.

15. A long-burning arc-lamp comprising a cap-plate, a slotted supporting-tube secured thereto and a shield over the slot to prevent draft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. CHRISTIAN J. TOERRING.

l/Vitnesses:

SAML. B. S. EARTH, -HARRY S. MORRIS. 

